Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I also thank the staff of the House who covered the debate last night, which continued until almost 3 a.m.

Concerns have been expressed by some in the primary schools sector that text messaging shorthand is contributing to deteriorating standards in spelling and grammar. This is illustrated by a case in the United Kingdom this week where a 13 year old schoolgirl submitted an essay written in text shorthand. Will the Minister for Education and Science take a stand on this issue?